


leaves are falling like they're in love with the ground

by starfallinginlove



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Autumn, M/M, Max is dead, Other Characters Are Mentioned, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rafael and Max Lightwood-Bane don't exist, background sizzy and clace - Freeform, malec are married because why not?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 07:50:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16572605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfallinginlove/pseuds/starfallinginlove
Summary: Alec is on patrol with Izzy and comes across a very special surprise.





	leaves are falling like they're in love with the ground

Alec Lightwood-Bane had never particularly liked Autumn. It signalled the beginning of traitorous months of long nights and frozen days – all of which left him like a snowman after laborious and uneventful night patrols like today. He wanted nothing more than to be laying with Magnus in their bedroom, trading soft kisses and time-stopping hugs.

Autumn also meant the fast approaching anniversary of Max’s death, but Alec tried not to think about that, instead focussing on the glorious and decadent hot chocolate that Magnus had promised him when he arrived home. After last weekends rush of demon attacks during the Hallowe’en period, Alec had always had an immense gratitude for the reprieve this week always brung to the New York Institute.

This year, however, it had been unseasonable - unpleasantly cold since Hallowe’en, steadily below freezing and with snow flurries painting the urban landscape of New York City an enchanting off-white. The snow flurries that had carpeted the Hallowe’en streets had now stopped, though not before leaving the sidewalks slippery and sludgy beneath his solid boots. This year had seemed to have completely forgotten any sort of golden, ethereal leaf-fall, the only part of wretched Autumn he had ever enjoyed.

It was just him and Izzy on their patrol tonight, and Alec was grateful, as he didn’t have the energy to deal with any displays of affection from Jace and Clary or his little sister with Simon. It would only serve to make him jealous and as bitter as the coffee Magnus drunk religiously every morning.

Isabelle, scowling like a petulant toddler as she slipped through the slush in _gods-damned suede high heels_ , activated her surefooted and equilibrium runes for the third time this hour. His sister, Alec Lightwood realised, may be a talented Shadowhunter, but she would never (ever) learn how to dress in appropriate clothing for the weather.

He was surprisingly warm, due to Magnus warding the door to the loft until Alec put on more layers, which now he was eternally grateful of. As obviously chilled as Izzy was, she was also stubborn and refused to take Alec’s coat even though he had his leather jacket below it and all she had on were an off the shoulder sweater and leggings.

Alec was already anticipating dropping round to the Institute the next morning only to find her curled up in bed with a worried Simon and a bumper pack of tissues.

Nevertheless, they continued their wander through New York, hunting down the demons they both knew wouldn’t be there. All the while, Alec was counting down the minutes until he could be with his husband again, on the couch watching Brooklyn 99 on the television until he inevitably fell asleep because Magnus was stroking his hands through his hair in that way he adored and…

A Shax demon was right in front of them, it’s gargantuan cockroach-esque physique magnified by an obviously filling meal.

“Can you see any victims, Izzy?” Alec asked, slowing down his steps to gain an advantage against the malevolent, volatile creature. It’s spindly legs, like branches on a tree struck by heavenly lightning, bent as it scuttled brazenly along the slippery pavement. Crawling up a wall, it dove its head into a full garbage can, not completely sated in its hunger; its bloodlust.

Izzy didn’t reply with words, only inclining her head to the side. _No_.

Alec reaching behind him and gradually unsheathed his bow from the pack on his pack, to avoid making a sound. The Shax demon continues to scuttle through the rubbish, only pausing to lick its venomous teeth with its barbed tongue. Alec was taken back to the time way back when Clary had only just recently become beknownst to the New York Institute’s Shadowhunters. He had high hopes that they would be able to slaughter this demon with ease, considering they had destroyed a whole nest collaborating to tear the Shadowhunters apart with no exceeding amounts of hassle.

Placing the arrow in line with the bow with extreme care, Alec lined the arrow with his high down to the Shax demon. The demon, who had ceased digging, was ominously still like the world had stopped around him. With brutal accuracy, Alec pierced the malevolent creature with the arrow. The creature combusted into three copies of itself, with Izzy cleared up with her whip. They burst into heavenly flames.

Alec turned away sighing. Gone were his plans of hanging out at the loft with Magnus tonight. It seemed he would be filling out incident report forms instead. Izzy, noticing the irritation on her big brother’s face, gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I’ll fill out the forms,” She declared, brushing a wisp of her hair from her face, “I know you were looking forward to a night in, Mr Lightwood-Bane.”

Alec shook his head, grinning like a starstruck teenager, at the use of his married name.

“Are you sure? I can do them,” He protested, albeit weakly.

Izzy didn’t reply. Instead, she had every entity in her body focussed on an alcove in the alleyway. Activating her soundless run, she moved towards it. Alec, doing the same, went to follow her. When Izzy had an instinct, it was rarely ever wrong.

And she wasn’t. Shivering with a bone-deep cold, was a hunched. lilac skinned girl. A young warlock with hair the purple of old necromancy spells. Her eyes, a startling grey, shone with hopelessness to ancient for her small age and frame.

“What’s your name?” Alec questioned tentatively.

“Elissa,” She whispered, looking up at him through pale lashes.

\---

Needless to say, finding a homeless 10-year-old warlock girl in the streets took a hell of a lot more paperwork than one simple demon interaction. After pinging Magnus a rushed text saying he wouldn’t be home that night, he settled down his office for what turned out to be a six-hour long discussion. It only ended because Jace had the brains to suggest that Elissa lived with the Lightwood-Bane’s.

Alec, himself was very happy with the idea. He and Magnus had discussed adoption in the past, however, they had never gotten round to it.

So after another quick phone call to Magnus – with “Can we adopt a homeless warlock” being the opening sentence – it was decided that she would move in with them.

Alec, watching the snow melt completely on the sidewalk outside leaving the piles of golden leaves he adored, decided that maybe Autumn was not so bad after all.


End file.
